The Case of the Fairhaven Silk Dress
A stolen dress from Fairhaven is recovered in Seattle after a swift investigation involving local police and a steamboat passenger.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
About 9 o'clock last evening, Capt. Willard received a telephone message from U. D. Bryan, city marshal of Fairhaven, who was in Everett, asking that Lizzie Ford, a passenger on the steamer Greyhound, be arrested. Detective Cudine went to the boat upon its arrival and took the woman to the station. Marshal Bryan arrived later, and the two went to where the woman was living on Yesler Avenue. Bryan returned alone, having in his possession a fine silk dress, which was one of several stolen about a month ago from a Fairhaven residence. Marshal Bryan had been working on the case and had arrested two men who eventually revealed the location of the stolen goods, stating that one of the dresses had been sold to the Ford woman.
“Marshal Bryan soon returned alone, having in his possession a fine silk dress, which was one of several stolen about a month ago.”
This petty theft case illustrates the interconnectedness of Puget Sound cities in the 1890s, where stolen goods could easily disappear into the city's growing street life. Tracking suspects across city lines via steamboat and telephone highlights the emerging speed of regional law enforcement at the time.
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